Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 141385 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141385 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
“Ah, I see, it’s like that,” I reply teasingly. “Then… Ti—Valentina?”
She smiles warmly. “I’m all yours.”
“Go to one of the sitting rooms.” His hand falls away from my back. “Or step outside for some air.”
“Air sounds good,” Valentina says, taking my arm. “Don’t worry, Your Royal Highness. She’s safe with me.”
Finn shakes his head, but a man I assume is the French Ambassador beelines towards him, and Valentina scoots me away.
“If we don’t go now, you’ll get suckered in and never leave,” she whispers into my ear. “That man could make conversation an Olympic sport.”
“I’ve had enough of that tonight,” I mutter.
She laughs, and it’s so like the one I remember from our early days together. Before she realised her father wasn’t right behind her to take her home. Before it sunk in that she might be stuck on that foreign island with us. Before she realised that she, the proverbial princess of the Devereaux family, would have to do things she’d never imagined only to survive.
We step outside into the cooler night, and I hadn’t realised just how warm the ballroom was until just now. The gentlest of breezes wafts through the air as we take a seat on a stone bench overlooking one of the many rose gardens in the palace. The sweet scent of the flowers carries nature’s natural perfume, and I take a deep breath in, closing my eyes.
“Well,” Valentina says. “You aren’t the Sinclair we were all expecting.”
I swallow, letting my eyes flutter open. “I was hoping to make an entrance.”
“You succeeded,” she replies with a soft laugh. “And, ooh, Jasmine’s face… I apologise for saying so, but that was fucking beautiful.”
I peer across at her. “Not a fan?”
She puckers her lips, as if she’s trying to figure out what to say. “Forgive me, but no.”
“You and me both.”
“Oh, that makes this easier then.” Another, more relieved, laugh tinkles out of her. “You… made it home.”
I nod slowly. “It took a long time,” I say. “Ryan and I got lucky.”
“Ryan’s alive?”
“He’s in London. Taking over his father’s company. His brother actually runs a business here in St Peters. I owe everything to them. They’re the only reason I made it back to Askurg at all.” I pause. “The others… Franco, Sakura, Maeve…”
“How did you get out of there?”
“Would you believe me if I told you it was the shaman?”
“That crazy old lady Sayana made you pay just for a blessing every month?” She raises her eyebrows. “No, I wouldn’t.”
I smile and look out over the flowers. They’re visible thanks to the low lighting marking the pathways, and my eyes trace the dim outlines of the bushes like a grounding tool. “When we turned fourteen, she made us pay out of the meagre earnings she let us keep. The shaman knew—she knew everything that was going on on that island. After Sayana was killed a couple of years later, she gave us back every penny and shoved us on a boat to her sister in a neighbouring village. Her sister was a local government official who was able to help us reach the mainland under the radar. We managed to contact Ryan’s dad, and he immediately flew out. He didn’t have to help me, but he did. I owe him my life.”
She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “She’s dead?”
“Yes. She pissed off one too many people.”
That’s it.
She doesn’t need to know more.
She doesn’t need to know Ryan was the one who killed her when he overheard her planning to sell me in exchange for one of her larger debts.
That’s a secret I will take to the grave.
“Good. She might have saved our lives in a fucked-up way, but…” She shakes her head. “She was a vile person.”
“Yeah. Both things can be true. We can be grateful she hid us while still being happy she was dead. It’s not exactly a black and white situation.”
“Mm.” She squeezes my hand tightly. “I’m so sorry, Hattie. I tried to tell them I wasn’t the only one, but nobody listened. I told my father you were there, but he said I was wrong because you were already buried. Nobody would believe a traumatised twelve-year-old girl. I even tried looking for you when I turned eighteen and had my own money, but I couldn’t find you.”
“It’s not your fault. By that point, we were already gone.” I turn to her, resting my other hand on top of hers. “You were a child, Titi. We both were. If everyone thought I was dead, it’s not surprising they didn’t believe you. Knowing what I do now…” I shake my head. “It’s a whole can of worms nobody wants to open.”
“Does that mean you are going to?”
“I’m going to blow the lid off it,” I say firmly. “Ryan has been looking into it, and we think we have a lead. I have… someone… willing to help me here, too.”